Kruger National Park South Africa – Photo Essay

Kruger National Park South Africa in photos.

Rhino

We first visited Kruger National Park back in 2003 during our five month adventure from Uganda to Cape Town. Going on safari and seeing African wildlife in their own backyard was a highlight of that trip.

There’s nothing like camping out under the African stars, listening to the roars of lions in the night, and then going in search of the BIG 5 the next day.

Kruger, and South Africa, gets under your skin.

I have fond memories of cooking a traditional South African braai as the sun goes down, and rising early with the animals as they go on the hunt for their food. It has me craving for more, especially now we have kids as another excuse to go back.

Besides seeing the big cats in the wild, we love watching the elephants and can spend hours admiring them in their family units. And of course there’s the hilarious baboons and the search for the rare African wild dog and getting close, but not too close, to the hippos.

Kruger National Park is well known for having one of the best African wildlife viewing experiences, with a high concentration of animals and a developed park system of roads and accommodation.

And if you are a thrill seeker, then I highly recommend the Kruger walking safari. Nothing beats walking freely around as a guest in the animal’s kingdom tracking rhino and lion and learning first hand about their habits (accompanied by armed rangers of course).

We were fortunate to return to Kruger a second time back in 2006 during our visit to South Africa for Caz’s brothers wedding, but still haven’t seen it all.

Kruger is massive and it’s a good idea to choose one area to stay at and base your drives near there. We found the Lower Sabie area to be excellent for the concentration and variety of wildlife.

Below is a collection of our photos (unfortunately we weren’t into blogging back then so our photos are smaller than we’d now like)

warthog

Kudu

baby hyena

Mr Giraffe on the move

sleeping rhino

I love elephants

hello blue balls monkey

traffic jam Kruger style

hello Mr Giraffe

Heartebeast

elephant standoff

rhino on the move

buffalo holding up traffic

cheeky monkey

just another zebra

baby hyena keeping warm on the tar road

lioness

Kudu on the move

Mr baboon

lioness and her cub

look at those teeth

elephant charge

leopard up a tree

family of zebra

rare African wild dog

African wild do on the hunt

baboons being baboons LOL

baboon alert

get off our car!!

hyena on the move

cute cub

walking tall

impala

lion keeping watch

springbok

sunset over the hippo pond

early morning game drive

Caz on our walking safari

picnic on our walking safari

traditional South African braai

our lodge

Safari Tips

Research the optimal season for viewing a Game Park. In the dry season the grass is short making it easier to spot wildlife and the choice of drinking water holes for the animals will be fewer, so your chances of watching them congregate at waterholes in any given area is easier.

Research carefully the optimal seasonal viewing of the Game Park. In the dry season the grass is short making it easier to spot wildlife and the choice of drinking water holes for the animals will be fewer, so your chances of watching them congregate at waterholes in any given area is easier.

Animals are most active at dusk and dawn. It is very hot in Africa, so during the day the animals are usually hibernating in the shade. Get up early to catch the animals at play, rest during the day, and then go out again just before sundown.

Lions like to sleep on the road at night to soak up the day’s heat trapped in the tar. If you’re up early enough you have a much better chance of seeing them up close and personal on the road. There were several times we turned a corner to find a lioness resting on the warm tar.

Do yourself a favour and buy a 600mm zoom lens (we didn’t and missed a lot of photo opps). Animals won’t deliberately come close for a portrait shot, and it’s not safe to get out of your car and pursue them. You’ve spent all the money, time, and energy to put yourself in a place of contact and you’ll want to have something to show for it.

Keep a safe distance when you encounter a wild animal and when in your vehicle keep your windows rolled up at all times.

Hi Craig,
You posted this two years ago and you have still not brought the kids!!
To make sure you bring the kids and visit soon, I mailed Caroline a video of my kids, Have a look.
I will also upload it to the blog if you let me know how.
It was taken at the Pafuri gate near Hoedspruit.
If the site is not equiped for me to upload video, you are welcome too use it as you see fit.

Yes I visited in 1995, the year we lost the World Cup Rugby! Highlights were watching the lion with it’s kill dragging it up the tree with brute force, getting charged by an elephant. We had an outdoor picnic too which for us attracted some unwanted attention from hyenas, it was a quick pack up! Overdue for another visit.

I feel guilty even admitting it, but I have a few places on my ‘to-do’ list ahead of an African Safari, but seeing pictures like this certainly moves it up my list. It’s the never-ending debate, South Africa or Kenya/Tanzania for the safari….

It has been a while since you have travelled to Kruger, almost ten years. I must say that you had some great sightings. How many days did you travel? We normally go for about a week, and sometimes you are lucky and see a great number of animals, and other times you see less. It all depends on the season. It seems like you went in summer when all is beautiful and green. Seeing animals is best at the end of South Africa’s winter, but then the area is dull and brown. You guys must come back…